Ramsden Last, Burwell First, Saints Triumph
On This Day... April 7
Joe Ramsden played the last of his 346 games for Rovers in a 15-6 defeat at the Boulevard in 1950. Ramsden, who made his debut on 1st September 1934, was one of Rovers best players in bleak times and one of the leading hookers of his generation.
A loyal one-club man who was remarkably free from injury, he averaged 34 matches per season thoughout his career. Had not the war intervened and cost him six seasons of his career when he was in his prime, Ramsden could have become the only Rovers player to make over 500 appearances for the club.
On this day in 1962, talented inside back Alan Burwell made his Rovers debut in a 10-9 win at Featherstone. A stand-off by preference, Burwell made 123 of his 226 Rovers appearances at centre, mainly after the arrival of Roger Millward in 1966. A skillful performer with deceptive pace, Burwell earned Yorkshire and Great Britain honours and had a spell with Australian club Canterbury in the early ‘seventies. He had the distinction of scoring the first try to be scored by a Rovers player in a Wembley final, with a fine individual effort in the 13-5 defeat to Widnes.
In 2013, Rovers showed enormous character to bounce back from their record 84-6 defeat on East Monday at the hands of Wigan. In front of 7,616 spectators at Craven Park they beat St Helens 22-14.
The two Hodgsons, David and Josh, gave Rovers a fine start with tries in the first 20 minutes, the second converted by Craig Hall to give the Robins a 10-0 lead. But in the last ten minutes of the half, Mark Percival, with two tries and a conversion, sent his side in level at the interval.
A converted try by Cory Paterson put Rovers ahead again on 51 minutes and it was a lead they did not lose. An unconverted try by Adam Swift nine minutes later gave the Robins some flutters, but a try by Alex Brown with 13 minutes to go restored Rovers’ six-point advantage, and Hall settled the game with a penalty in the penultimate minute.
The Rovers team that day was – Greg Eden; Alex Brown, Kris Welham, Graeme Horne, David Hodgson; Craig Hall, Michael Dobson; Evarn Tuimavave, Josh Hodgson, Adam Walker, Jordan Cox, Cory Paterson, Con Mika. Bench: Micky Paea, Rhys Lovegrove, Richard Beaumont, Keal Carlile.